New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that annual consumer prices rose to 2.2% in April from 2% a month earlier.
The CSO said this marks the second month in a row where inflation has been at, or above, 2%.
The CSO also said the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), which strips out mortgage interest costs, rose to 2% from 1.8% on an annual basis.
Today’s figures show the sector with the biggest annual increase was the Recreation & Culture sector, with prices up 4.2% on the back of a rise in package holiday prices.
Meanwhile, the price of food & non-alcoholic beverages rose by 3.4% due to higher costs across a range of foods including meat, milk, cheese, chocolate and soft drinks
But clothing and footwear prices were down 2.6% on the back of sales, while prices of furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance fell by 0.9%.
On a monthly basis, a similar trend was seen in package holiday prices, while the cost of communications rose by 1.8%. Prices of clothing and footwear as well as furnishings were both 0.2% lower on a monthly basis.
The CSO also published its National Average Prices for selected goods and services for April today.
It noted a 97 cent price increase last month for a pound of butter, while Irish cheddar per kg was up 79 cent, two litres of full fat milk rose by 27 cent and an 800g loaf of brown sliced pan inched two cent higher.
But there was a 17 cent reduction in the price of a 2.5kg bag of potatoes, while spaghetti per 500g fell two cent and the price of an 800g loaf of white sliced pan was unchanged when compared with April last year.
Article Source – Annual inflation rate rises to 2.2% in April – CSO – RTE